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Why Join ASHRAE

ASHRAE Membership

ASHRAE membership is open to any person associated with heating, ventilation, air conditioning or refrigeration. ASHRAE is unique because its membership is drawn from a wide range of disciplines relating to the HVAC&R field. Approximately 51,000 individuals from more than 100 nations belong to the Society.

Discounts on Publications

ASHRAE members earn 15% off publications. Hundreds of titles are available including the complete collection of ASHRAE Standards including 90.1, 62.1 and 189.1.

Develop Leadership Skills

When you join ASHRAE, you are making an investment in yourself. When you become active in the Society by giving your time and sharing your knowledge, you get even more out of that investment.

Network with Industry Professionals

Each month, all over the world, ASHRAE chapters convene for an informational program featuring a speaker or topic that is key to professionals in the industry. Meet with your peers and share ideas.

About the AuthorsTom Hootman, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, is director of sustainability at RNL in Denver. David Okada, P.E., Member ASHRAE, LEED AP, is an associate principal for Integral Group in Seattle. He worked on the NREL RSF project while at Stantec Consulting. Shanti Pless, Member ASHRAE, is a senior energy efficiency research engineer in the NREL Commercial Buildings Research Group in Golden, Colo., Michael Sheppy, Associate Member ASHRAE, is a research engineer in the NREL Commercial Buildings Research Group in Golden, Colo. Paul Torcellini, Ph.D., P.E., Member ASHRAE, is the line manager of the NREL Commercial Buildings Research Group in Golden, Colo.

Net Zero Energy Procurement

The foundation to this blueprint is writing performance requirements into the contract. NREL developed a performance-based design-build approach to procurement. The goals of this approach are unleashing the creativity of the designers and builders, maximizing collaboration, and reducing overall risk by shifting responsibility and control to the design build team. (See Key Provisions Included.)

These provisions filtered into the design-build team’s contractual relationships and reinforced a performance-centered, integrated delivery process. The investment NREL made in clearly and thoroughly defining its objectives was critical to simultaneously meet the aggressive performance, cost and schedule requirements. (See Primary Project Objectives and Requirements.)

The design-build team realized that by focusing on net zero energy, many of the other objectives would fall into place. The project is pursuing three of NREL’s four definitions of net zero energy: site energy, source energy, and energy emissions (net zero energy cost was not pursued). Meeting the net zero site energy requirements was the most challenging and served as the basis for sizing the renewable energy system.

With the final phase of the on-site photovoltaic system installed during summer 2012, the project is meeting its demand-side energy use targets, but is still a year away from having a full net zero energy year.

Climate Responsive Design

The most cost-effective way to save energy is to not need it. Building the architectural concept around climate responsive strategies reduces demand on active lighting and HVAC systems. The primary building section design addresses strategies such as a 100% daylit footprint, effective cross ventilation and solar and glare control. The resulting section is 60 ft deep. The narrow depth and campus constraints led to the H-shaped plan that positions the office program in long, thin, east-west-oriented wings.

The building envelope also is key in integrating passive strategies. The façades have low average window-to-wall ratios of 27%, but the design still provides a fully daylit interior. The two primary exterior wall assemblies include a precast concrete assembly and a steel stud assembly. The precast concrete walls include continuous rigid insulation and use a low-conductivity connector between the interior and exterior concrete layers.

The steel stud wall uses a stud with stamped openings within the web, which reduces the thermal bridging. In addition to high R-value wall and roof assemblies, careful attention was paid to the intersections of assemblies to reduce thermal bridging.

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Join ASHRAE

ASHRAE advances the arts and sciences of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration to serve humanity and promote a sustainable world. With more than 53,000 members from over 132 nations, ASHRAE is a diverse organization representing building system design and industrial processes professionals around the world.